Essay On Nature And Human Figure

Human Nature Essay

1665 Words7 Pages

“It is a sin to believe evil of others, but it is seldom a mistake.” -H.L Menckens From the moment they are born, humans have a naturally evil predisposition. Although the term ‘evil’ is difficult to define, there are various views on morality. The most commonly referenced one, Moral Objectivism, holds that moral standards are universally transcendent, and that certain acts are right or wrong independent of human subjectivity. It is by this unspoken moral code that humanity’s acts are judged. There is some debate whether a fundamental human nature exists, as social and environmental influences are present from the moment someone is born. But if we can define human nature, it is beyond doubt, naturally evil. The English philosopher Thomas…show more content…

The atrocity of acts committed by mankind throughout history demonstrates the dangerous results when society is unable to restrain the natural evil present in human beings. The words ‘humane’, and ‘civilized’, both come from roots that describe society. Their positive connotations associate humankind with an inherent morality. But it is hard to have faith in our race when throughout history; we have brutalized each other in such barbaric ways. How can independently thinking, emotionally compassionate beings take part in massacres like the killings at Columbine or in the terrorist attacks in 2001? The September 11th bombings took thousands of innocent lives, and struck fear into the hearts of millions. What shocked the observing world though, was not the number of dead. It was the senselessness of the cause, the raw savagery of the attacks, the utter lack of humanity. It begged the question: what happens when the moderating hand of society fails to restrain a group of radicals? The answer was simple. We saw the innate evil present in each one of us, in its undistilled, uncensored form. The Columbine killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were disillusioned bullies- torn away from society’s expectations through a combination of violence tendencies and psychosis. Their horrific acts were a result of their innate evil nature breaking through the wall of societal structure. Golding’s contention was that in most cases, rules were forced